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Q. I’m an avid gardener, but the rising cost of plants, soil amendments, containers and everything else garden-related is becoming increasingly daunting. Have you any tips on frugal gardening?
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A. Here are some cost reducing measures to consider:
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Grow some plants from seed. Share seeds and divide costs with friends who want to grow the same plants.Use free seeding containers like beverage cartons with a side cut out and plastic containers that held produce like baby spinach. I get both from friends and a small, local deli. Wash the containers thoroughly and punch drainage holes in their bases.Save some of your own seeds. Lettuce is easy. Choose one or two of the best plants of a variety you want to save and leave them to produce flower stems. Fluffy seed heads will follow.Seek out and buy small plants. They cost less, and they’ll settle in more quickly than large ones.Find free mulching materials like leaves from neighbours for covering empty plots for the winter and placing around summer vegetables to cool the soil and help conserve its moisture.Compost all garden waste materials except woody debris and seed-bearing weeds. Using finished compost to prepare plots for planting reduces or eliminates the cost of purchased soil amendments.Save kitchen vegetable and fruit trimmings to dig into holes dug into plot edges and corners that tend to dry out quickly. This on-site composting creates areas of spongy absorbency and fertility in the soil.
Q. Do you grow your own kale? If you do, is it any more palatable than the big, tough, unpalatable leaves that can be bought? I garden at the coast.
Homegrown kale offers the choice of gathering and using young, tender leaves. Through the fall, during mild winter weather and for much of the spring, the plants produce clusters of fresh growth. These tufts of new leaves, and their stems, are tender and tasty, good lightly stir-fried or added to salads.
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